The Will of Fire
by Dizzcity
Summary: 15 years have passed, and our young shinobi have all grown up. But when a mysterious plague sweeps through peaceful Konoha Village, taking many lives including the 5th Hokage, how will they react? Various pairings. [Put on hold indefinitely]
1. A Bad Omen

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters depicted below.

Setting: About 15 years after the events of manga chapter 238. Naruto and the rest of the former Rookie 9 are now aged 27.

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**Chapter 1: A Bad Omen**

"Check."

A slim hand moved the threatened king to one side. The hand belonged to an attractive, blonde woman in a dark blue dress. Her unruly shoulder-length hair hung loose behind her. "That seemed too easy. Is something bothering you?"

"Not really. But I've had this feeling at the back of my mind for some time now that something big and very bad is about to happen. Like a war, maybe," a thin, dark-haired man with a slightly-abstracted expression on his face answered. A stubble of hair grew around his chin, as if he was undecided whether to be clean-shaven or have a goatee.

"Whatever gave you that idea? Ever since the Earth Country and Hidden Stone Village agreed to join the Coalition, there's been almost universal peace."

"I don't know. Call it an instinct. I just don't think the 5th's Coalition will last very long."

"Don't you trust the 5th's leadership and diplomacy skills?"

"Not really. I know her too well. She's always goofing off and getting Shizune to do the work. Typical of a woman. I wouldn't be surprised if this 'universal peace' of hers fell apart within a few years."

"Would you like to rephrase that comment about women?" the woman's voice hardened.

"Uh… never mind. Forget I said anything," the offending player cringed slightly.

"You're just being paranoid. Relax and enjoy this game. Wasn't that what you told me you wanted, back in our youth, before we were married? Besides, even if a war did break out, we wouldn't be involved anyway. We both stopped being shinobis after the peace was declared, so that we could be together."

"Yes, but I still have ties to the village. They _are_ our major customers after all – nearly half of our goods goes straight to Konoha Hospital. And we both have precious people we want to protect. If a war really did break out, we may be forced to fight again, to protect this house, our friends, and especially Shikari. It's my duty as a man and head of this household."

As if on cue, a little blonde girl came barrelling out of the door, clutching a doll. "Mummy, mummy! Uncle made Takara dance! See!" She held the doll up to the female player, then seemed disappointed when it lay limp in her hand. She shook the doll and tried to make it stand on its feet. "Dance, Takara, dance."

A large man came out of the door with a rueful grin on his streaked face. "Sorry, you two. Have to keep in practice, you know. Kazekage made it a standing order for us to train everyday still, whether we have missions or not."

"Did you have to practise your puppet-playing on my daughter's doll, though? We asked you to babysit, not practise jutsus." The woman abandoned the game to comfort her daughter, who was starting to sniffle at the doll's lack of motion. The other player gave an absent-minded pat on the little girl's head as he studied the chessboard intently.

The large man looked at the board. "Looks like you're in a pretty bad position there," he commented to the other player. The player nodded and touched his fingers together in concentration. The little girl slowly subsided with a cough and a hiccup. Her mother took her off her lap and handed her over to the larger man.

"Now, be a good girl, Shikari, and go play with your uncle while your Mummy beats Daddy at chess."

The larger man snorted in laughter as he took the girl. "Hah! You haven't beaten him even once ever since you got married. And that was five years ago. That wedding seems to have permanently softened your brain." He got soundly thwacked by the woman.

"Go away and let me concentrate. And take Shikari out to watch the clouds. She'll like that more than you messing around with her dolls. She reminds me of her father more and more every day." She shot a sidelong look at her opponent. "Equally laid-back and lazy."

Her opponent ignored the comment as he moved a piece forward. "Check." With a parting snort, the man left them, carrying the little girl on his shoulder and pointing out the cloud formations in the sky.

The woman turned back to the chessboard and stifled a smile when she saw her husband's move. "You must be getting desperate." She moved her rook forward to block the attack as well as mount another. "Check"

The man noticed two figures on the hillside approaching the small cabin where they stayed. They were still a good distance off – too far away to make out at this moment. He shrugged. It wasn't worth the effort to investigate. If trouble was approaching, it was best to put it off as long as possible. His eyes returned to the board, then widened in shock. The woman was grinning.

"I don't believe it…"

"Go ahead. Make your move."

The man's hand trembled slightly as he made the only move available to him. His wife had forced him into a trap.

The woman, a vicious and terrifying smile on her face, moved her rook to the final position. "Checkmate"

"I can't believe I lost…"

"Finally, after five years of humiliation, I have my revenge!"

"It's a sign that something's going wrong with the universe."

"You're such a sore loser. Let me have my moment of triumph, won't you?"

"You had your moment of triumph the other night in bed."

The woman gasped and blushed slightly. Her husband grinned at her reaction to his uncharacteristic comment. Surprising her was one of the few things he loved to do. He shifted his gaze from the chessboard to the distant figures rapidly approaching, then back to the chessboard, and shook his head.

"It's a bad omen, I tell you."

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**Author's Notes**:

I'm a big fan of ShikaTem stories and romances, even though a lot of the really good ones don't see them getting together successfully. This chapter is dedicated to miyawada, who is writing one of the better ShikaTem romances out there, entitled "Ienakatta Omoi".


	2. A Strange Smell

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto. Too bad.

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**Chapter 2: A Strange Smell**

Two figures stood on a hilltop, scanning the forest below them. Both were men, and both had white masks on, marked with the symbol of a leaf on their foreheads. One was tall and lanky, with a short crop of black hair. The other was shorter but more muscular, built like a brawler. He had a shock of dark-brown hair that encircled his face like fuzzy mane. Both wore overcoats and their breath steamed in the cold morning air.

The taller man spoke first. "Well?"

"I'm getting something from over there," the shorter man replied, pointing towards a clearing in the distance. With a flash, the two shinobis were off, bounding through the trees, the shorter one still finding the breath to talk as they wove their way through the forest canopy. "It's been quite some time since we've had a mission like this, hasn't it?"

"…" His companion nodded, not needing words to express himself to his partner. Their level of rapport and understanding had long ago exceeded the bounds of normal speech, after a decade and a half of working closely together. Besides, he rarely spoke when on a mission like this, unlike his garrulous teammate.

"I wonder who it was who dared to steal the scroll of Kinjutsu again…" the shorter man mused. "Nobody's been able to do that since Naruto pulled that prank back when we were little. The 3rd sealed it up so tightly and laid so many traps around it, I thought that nobody could ever have gotten in."

"…" the tall man agreed, then asked a question. "…?"

"No, I've never come across this scent before. It's… strange," the shorter man shook his head in puzzlement. The taller man arched an eyebrow at him. Noticing it, the shorter man shrugged. "I can't explain it. It's like nothing I've ever smelled before."

"…" The tall man was slightly worried.

"Damn. I wish he were here," the shorter man said sadly. "His sense of smell was much better than mine. If he was stronger, or younger, he would have come. It's not that far."

The tall man thought back to his last sight of the third member of their team. An ancient white dog in a kennel back at the Hidden Leaf Village lifted his head feebly and whined slightly, blinking weak, bleary eyes.

"All living things grow old with time," the tall man said softly, putting as much sympathy into his voice as he could. Which wasn't a lot. But it was enough to convey his condolences to his companion, who understood and appreciated the gesture. The short man let the wind of their passage brush away a tiny tear that had been forming in one of his eyes and refocused his thoughts on the mission ahead.

"We're coming close. The smell is very strong around here," he said. His partner nodded and stretched out his arms in preparation.

Abruptly, they burst out into the clearing, and split in opposite directions almost immediately. It was one of the tactics they used. Konoha's best hunter-nin team often capitalised on their reputation and gave their prey a brief glimpse of them before vanishing again into the forest. The shock value added to the fear that normally would have already accumulated in their targets. After all, everyone knew what Hunter Team 2 did to those who had the misfortune of being the missing-nin that they were after. That alone was enough to keep a lot of people away from the temptation of betraying the village. Most people shuddered at the thought of being eaten alive by ravenous bugs. Nobody knew where that little bit of information had come from, but all believed it.

The two men hid themselves in the trees surrounding the clearing, and then finally had the luxury of examining the site closely. A young man sat huddled beside a tree stump in the clearing, chanting something in a low voice and making no move to defend himself, or even react to the Hunter-nins. The Kinjutsu scroll was nowhere to be seen. After a brief interlude, both shinobi emerged from the trees warily.

"My insects do not detect anyone within a hundred meters from here," the taller man said quietly to his partner. "They also warn me that there is something strange about this man."

His partner scrutinised the young man closely, then did a double-take. "Wait, I recognise this ninja! Isn't he…?" He was interrupted by a confirmatory nod from the taller man. "This doesn't make any sense! There's no way he would betray the village!"

"At least we now know how he bypassed the 3rd's security measures."

"Yeah. But wasn't he supposed to be on a mission, anyway? Where's the rest of his team?"

The two glanced around the clearing, but could see no sign of any life other than the young man in front of them, nodding his head and chanting to himself. They could faintly make out his words, "Must bring scroll to clearing…must bring scroll to clearing...must bring scroll to clearing."

"Damn, this is weird! The scroll's nowhere to be seen, he's alone in the woods when he should be out on a mission, his team has disappeared, and worse of all – he's either lost his mind or been drugged!" the shorter man cried out in frustration.

"We seem to have come too late," the taller man commented. "Whoever it was that was controlling him seems to have departed a long time ago, leaving him for us to find."

The shorter man was pacing around the clearing, sniffing. "Yeah. And that doesn't make any sense. The scroll was only stolen last night. We were dispatched in less than an hour, and we've been chasing him almost non-stop. He would only have had a very brief time to pass the scroll over to whoever it was."

"…"

"BUT I CAN'T SMELL ANYTHING!! There's no way that a person could have been here less than an hour ago and leave no scent. It's impossible!" the shorter man was coming close to pulling out his hair in frustration. He pointed a finger accusingly at the mumbling youth. "And what's more, I should know his scent by heart. Something is seriously screwed up around here."

The shorter man went closer to the huddled figure and took a big sniff before the taller man could stop him. The strange, sweet-sour smell that he had been following all night was almost overpowering. _This smell… It was… it was as though… someone…_

The shorter man fainted. The young man stared down at him with blank eyes and told him, "Must bring scroll to clearing… must bring scroll to clearing."

The tall man watched carefully behind his blank mask. He let no sign of his surprise show in his posture. _So that's how it was done…_

"This is not good," he said to nobody in particular. A bird chirped as if in agreement.

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**Author's Notes:**

The special talents of Kiba and Shino always appealed to me as the perfect combination for long-distance search-and-destroy missions, such as chasing down missing-nins. So, I decided - why not make them the most feared Hunter-Nin team in Konoha? After all, it's true - nobody would like being consumed by bugs. Dedicated to Link and Luigi, the first people to really bring Shino's character to life for me.


	3. A Quiet Morning

Disclaimer:Again, I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters in it.

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**Chapter 3: A Quiet Morning**

_A bird chirped. Then a few more. And then it seemed like a whole forest full of birds were in full cry as a flash of lightning shot across the ground and exploded into the chest of a pink-haired kunoichi. She gasped as a rivulet of blood trailed out of her mouth and onto the arm that was half-buried in the girl's body. That hand slowly withdrew, clutching the shredded and gory fragments of a heart as the female ninja's eyes closed and she sagged. Her lips tried to form a name as she died, but only a wordless hiss came out. She fell back._

_The red-eyed youth who held the heart gazed dispassionately at the broken body underneath him. Holding his hand out, he squeezed the blood out of the heart and let it drip over the corpse. After that was done, he shrugged and walked off into darkness, discarding the heart as he went._

The man woke up screaming.

Beside him, a woman stirred. She pushed back the covers of the bed they were in and regarded him quietly. "Was it that nightmare again?"

The man nodded, unable to speak. He shook with suppressed emotion. Gently, the woman reached out and put a hand to his shoulder. Slowly, she gathered him into her embrace as they fought through the storm of emotion together. Her night robe fell slightly open, leaving a shoulder exposed, and he traced the discoloured outlines of a wide, irregular scar on the flesh with his finger. The woman noticed and put her hand over his, calming the shaking fingers by entwining them with her own.

"Shh… It was a long time ago. It's over now," she said. "You're at home, and you're safe. And I'm safe, and the world is at peace. And you're helping it to be so."

Gradually, the man calmed down. Both of them relaxed their grip on each other, and the man tenderly cupped the woman's face with both of his hands. He kissed her softly in gratitude, and it was about to deepen into something more when a wail arose from the next room. Both of them broke off in muffled laughter mixed with annoyance.

The man glanced out the window. Dawn was just breaking. He turned back and found his wife regarding him. A puzzled frown arose on his features. She smirked at him.

"Don't pretend you don't know. Today is Thursday. It's your turn," she stated, pointing a thumb back at the thin door behind which the increasingly frantic cries were being heard. "Besides, it was probably you that woke him up."

The man shot a dark look at her, but she only smiled and sank back into the pillows. "It's my day off, and I'm going back to sleep," she said, nuzzling deeper into the bed, seemingly oblivious to the cries.

With a sigh, the man got out of bed and pulled his robe around him, padding his way into the next room. A small baby was there, bawling lustily. The man smiled slightly as he picked the infant boy up and cradled him to his chest. He rocked the baby slowly to quieten him, noticing as he did so the brilliant green eyes and black hair the boy had. His heart gave a twinge of pride at the tiny hand that gripped his finger with unusual strength. Finally, after so long, his last goal had been accomplished. In this boy lay the future of his clan. When the green turned to red, he promised himself that he would be ready to teach his son life's most important lesson.

_But then again, look how long it took for _me_ to learn that lesson. Perhaps he will inherit his father's pride and stubbornness as well. I hope he would never have to pay the cost that I did to learn where true strength comes from._

His thoughts flashed back to that fateful day when a ragtag group of shinobi had burst into the ritual chamber and interrupted the process of transference. How he had nearly killed the one that had now come to mean the most to him. Every day, he gave thanks for the tackle that caused him to miss her heart and hit the shoulder instead. _He was the only one fast enough to have a chance of intervening, and it was a good thing he was in love with her at the time, too_.

By now, the baby had quietened, and was staring up at him with big, concerned eyes. _So like his mother's_. _And so different from his uncle's_. He suppressed a shiver at the thought, and gently put the baby back into the crib, covering him with the soft blanket that had a fan symbol on it. The little infant soon fell asleep again, still clutching his father's finger with a tiny fist. _Grow strong, my son. Not in your hands only, but more importantly, in your heart. _

A loud knock at the front door diverted his attention. He gently disengaged his finger and moved over to the big entrance of the mansion. Upon opening it, he saw a well-known face.

"Chief, the Hokage requires your presence for a meeting. Also, I've brought word from the hospital that your wonderful wife is needed again. Hunter-Nin Team 2 is back with the missing-nin, but he seems to have been drugged and they can't find the antidote to it."

"I'll inform my wife, and tell the Hokage I'll be there in half an hour."

"Acknowledged," the messenger saluted and streaked away. The man stood at the entrance, watching him disappear. _He's still faster than me, after all these years_._ I'm lucky to have a friend like him dedicate himself to protecting our family. _With a wry expression, he turned back to the mansion, giving silent thanks to nice guys and their promises.

He stopped by a little room in the corner of the mansion, as he had done every day for the last 8 years. Quietly entering, he looked down at the body of the comatose man lying motionless on the bed. The nurse arose from her seat and bowed.

"Has there been any change?"

"I'm sorry. All his vital signs are strong, but he still remains brain-dead," the nurse replied.

"Continue to watch over him."

"I will," she bowed as he left. It was a depressing sight, and he did not want to stay there any longer than he could. But he forced himself to go every day, to remind him of the danger he faced in struggling with the darkness within. _That is the price of pursuing power at any cost. It eats at you, tears you up, and leaves you with nothing in the end. It is too bad that you did not learn that in time, brother of mine. You killed all of your precious people before they could bring you back from the darkness. You weren't as lucky as I was. _

He reached his own bed, and gently tried to wake his wife by shaking her. She refused to get up at first, so he was forced to use the last resort. He tickled her. She woke laughing.

"You're wanted at the hospital. The Dog and Bug team are back with a drugged missing-nin. They need to you find the antidote," he told her. "And the Hokage called a meeting I have to attend."

"I'm never going to get a break," she sighed. "Remind me to strangle Hokage-sama when she's not looking." She quickly dressed and then brought his face mask to him. In a daily household ritual, she kissed the inside of his mask, and fastened it on to him so that he would bear her kiss on his lips the whole day.

TheChief of Konoha Policeand his wife,Head Researcher of Konoha Hospital, left their house together.

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**Author's Notes:**

By now, you would have realised that I'm deliberately avoiding the names of the characters, which was pretty hard to do in this chapter. Don't worry though - it's not going to last forever! Just until all the main characters have been introduced again. For the readers who think that this Sasuke might be a little too fluffy and OOC to be realistic, I was actually trying to project a Sasuke that has come to terms with his need for revenge, and started to revert back to the nature of the little boy whose loved ones were so dear to him. Dedicated to dazdnconfusd730, who is writing a much better future fanfic than I am, called "Walking Corpse".


	4. A Caged Emotion

**Disclaimer: **Do I own Naruto? Is that a rhetorical question? Obviously not.

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**Chapter 4: A Caged Emotion**

"I'm never going to get a break," she sighed. "Remind me to strangle Hokage-sama when she's not looking."

"Right now, I need your strings for another purpose," he reminded her. With another sigh, the brown-haired woman let loose a kunai at the target dummy. As usual, it hit with perfect accuracy in the target's arm. The man standing next to her quickly grabbed the string tied to the kunai and released his chakra into it. Miniature explosions arose as his chakra enveloped the targeted arm, and then spread throughout the entire body.

The woman stifled a yawn. "Well done," she said tiredly. "You've hit all the tenketsu as usual. Now can we _please_ go back? We've been training all night."

The man shook his head slowly, frowning in concentration. "It is still too slow. By the time my chakra hits the tenketsu, the target would already have reacted to the kunai hit. There has to be some way of making it faster."

The brown-haired, brown-eyed woman wearing a Chinese blouse gave an exasperated sigh and started to walk off. Her companion looked up at her sudden departure.

"Where are you going?"

"Off. Out. Back to my house to get some sleep. Anywhere away from you," she replied, not bothering to look back over her shoulder.

"You can't do that!" the man said, starting to go after her. She spun around angrily to face him.

"And just who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do?" she narrowed her eyes and glared at him, folding her arms across her chest.

"I…" he stopped, looking slightly confused. It had been a long night for him too, but he had not noticed it until now. Now, it all caught up to him and made his brain slow to react. "I… err…"

_Go on. Say it. I dare you to say it, _she thought, trying to keep her emotions suppressed. Not that it did much good. Not in front of his eyes. Besides, he should have known by now. There was no way he could not have known, after so long. But he had never shown any sign of bringing the matter up, and she didn't dare to. _At least, if we don't talk about it, there's still a chance that he might reciprocate. It's safer not to know than to know that he doesn't. _So why was she bringing it up now? Was she too exhausted, or was the tension getting to her?

_Her stance indicates extreme tiredness. Her folded arms show defiance and anger, but could also mean that she is trying to hide something. The focused glare of her eyes indicate that this feeling is directed at me. Is she angry at me, or worried I might discover her secret? _He knew, of course, what her secret was. It had been painfully obvious for a number of years now, whenever she thought he wasn't focused on her. Sometimes, he wished that he didn't have the insight into people's emotions that his eyes gave him. It wasn't always useful. Additional information led to more complex ambiguities and dilemmas.

"I thought you wanted to become the best kunoichi in the village," he said, forcing his voice to be calm. "You can't be that unless you spend a lot of time training."

"I DO want to become the best kunoichi in the village," she said, disappointedly. _All he cares about is training. _"But that doesn't mean that I should spend day and night training with you. Especially not when I'm supposed to have another mission coming up soon with my Genins."

He was taken aback. "I thought you liked our training sessions," he said, muffling the hurt in his voice.She noticed anyway and softened, coming up to him to put a hand on his shoulder.

"No, _you_ liked our training sessions," she said kindly. She paused, considering. "Well, I liked them too. But not for such extended periods at a time. Not all day and night, like this one. That's just too long, and there's too much strain involved. Plus, we've also got our teams to think of."

"_There's too much strain involved?" This was a bad idea. _"You're right," he heard his voice answer coldly. "I apologise for keeping you awake. I'll let you go back to rest for your mission later then." He nodded stiffly and walked off before she could reply.

"Oh damn…" she muttered to herself, softly. _There you go again. Just when he was starting to open up_.A wave of exhaustion shook her, and she realised she was trembling on her feet. _I'll find another day to make it up to him. Right now, I've got to get some sleep before those hyperactive 12-year-olds drag me all over the farm during the next mission. _She turned and started walking along the path back to her home, then noticed the bird hovering overhead. _Damn._

The man opened the door to his house in a small corner of the compound, still musing over the events earlier. Perhaps it wasn't as bad as he had initially thought. Nothing was set in stone. His fate might still be changed. It could be different for him.

He found his mother up and about, cooking breakfast. She half-turned and acknowledged his return. He went up to her side and stared at the porridge she was making. It was pure white, and looked tasteless. As he watched, she added brown sauce to it, and the porridge suddenly smelled and looked a lot better. _Amazing how a little bit of brown adds so much colour and beauty to something that was pure white._ He pushed that thought away and realised he was starving.

"You seem upset," his mother's voice inquired gently.

"It's nothing." They sat down to breakfast. It was a quiet meal, like most of the others in this household.

"Mother, how did you come to meet Father?" he broke the silence suddenly.

Her eyes grew faraway, and a happy – yet sorrowful – expression crossed her face. "We were part of the same team. He was very bitter about his fate at first, just like you were." Her eyes rested briefly on him before returning to the dim mists of memory. "I remember that we used to train together a lot. It took a long time before he was able to allow anyone into his heart. But when he did, he was very gentle with me. That's why I loved him. Even though I knew it would be a very hard life for the both of us, his gentleness and the hundred different ways he showed his love for me kept me going." A tear formed in her eye. "How I miss him so…" she whispered.

The young man got up and put his hands on his mother's shoulders to comfort her. She turned and cried quietly into his side. As he watched his mother mourn a man that had been dead for almost three decades, he realised that he had been wrong earlier. There was no way to escape this particular fate. It still trapped him in tragedy and sorrow, as it had his parents before him. And he could only look out of it, a caged bird, watching as others flew freely in the sky together. He gazed into the distance, wishing…

"Son…" His mother had stopped weeping now, and was wiping her eyes, trying to put on a brave smile for him. "I forgot to say this earlier."

"Yes?"

"Welcome home."

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**Author's Notes: **Okay, okay, I know the ending was a bit contrived. Sorry... just wanted to maintain stylistic consistency. Also, I've done some minor changes to the earlier chapters... changed the name of ShikaTem's daughter, and changed Sasuke's role. I confused ANBU with Konoha Police. Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to Goldberry. Fans of Goldberry would know why.


	5. A Startling Announcement

**Disclaimer: **Refer to earlier chapters.

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**Chapter 5: A Startling Announcement**

"Welcome home"

He looked at her. She had changed again. Her hair had grown longer and was softly curling around her shoulders. She was still petite, and her gentle curves made her look all the more graceful as she stood there, wearing the traditional kimono of her house. But more importantly than that, she now stood straighter and more confident of herself as she faced him. Every time he came back to the village, he noticed it. And appreciated it. A faint rose touched her cheeks as she waited, and he realised that he had forgotten to answer during his brief examination of her.

"It's great to be back!" he grinned widely, stretching his arms out widely and breathing in the fresh air. Somehow, the air always seemed fresher and cleaner in the place he called home. _And is that ramen I smell?_ He looked around a bit, and then focused back on his welcoming committee. All one of them.

"Nobody else came out here to welcome me back except you?" he inquired, slightly irritated. _Sheesh. I go away for half a year to train, and they all forget about me! Bakas._ She blushed even further and started to revert back to her old shy pose.

"No…no, it's not that. The Godaime suddenly called a meeting this morning, so most of them had to go for it. And…and the others are busy with their jobs. They sent their greetings, though," she stammered slightly.

"Oh, I see," he grinned. "Well, that's okay. When I'm Hokage, I'll expect all the people whom I call to turn up at my meetings too." He fell into step with her as they started to thread their way through the early morning village traffic. Shopkeepers bustled to open their front doors, hawkers started to set up their stalls, and the smells of food drifting from the restaurants made him realise he was hungry.

"Hey, want to get some ramen?" he asked his quiet companion. She gave a tiny smile and nodded.

"I…I also have something important to tell you," she said, as they turned in the direction of his favourite stall.

"Good. You can tell me over a hot bowl of miso ramen," he laughed. "I want to find out all that's been happening while I was gone." She kept quiet, so he started to fill in the time by telling her all that he did during the last six months, and how far his training was progressing. As he chattered on, she cast small glances his way, observing quietly. He hadn't changed much in the last half-year. His bright orange jumpsuit was a little scruffier than normal, but that was only to be expected after six months in the mountains. It was made of good material anyway, so she was sure it would last much longer than that. The tailor had practically guaranteed it to her when she had asked. She was pleased that he was wearing her present. His hair had grown longer – covering his back with golden spikes. It was held off his face by his cherished forehead protector. His face hadn't changed all that much, except becoming a little more tanned. He was still bouncing with exuberant energy – the same energy and determination that had made her admire him in the past. Her face grew sad, and she put those thoughts away.

They passed by the old ninja academy on the way, and he paused briefly. A big-boned (not fat) man dressed in a chuunin vest was timing a group of young children doing laps in the courtyard. With his other hand, he was digging into a bag of potato chips. Some things never changed. The man in the orange jumpsuit grinned as the spirit of a former prankster rose up in him. He turned to his companion, who quickly changed to a neutral expression before he noticed.

"Hey, do you mind waiting for a little while here? I need to do something," he said, his blue eyes becoming even wider with mischief. She had barely assented before he disappeared. Suddenly, a tree branch broke above the chuunin teacher and started to fall on him. The chuunin noticed it in time, though, and enlarged one of his hands – the one that had been digging into the potato chips – to catch it. As the woman watched, the bag of potato chips disappeared in a silent orange flash while the teacher and students were distracted. She smiled. It was just so like him.

Her companion reappeared next to her, and they continued to walk towards the Ichiraku Ramen shop, eating potato chips as they went, while howls of bewilderment and loss drifted from the Academy.

They finally arrived, and the shopkeepers greeted their best customer cheerfully. It was good to have him back – both for entertainment as well as for their revenues. After ordering, the blond man turned to her.

"So what's this important announcement that you need to tell me?" he asked. "Did the Hokage officially name me as her successor yet?"

"Um…no, it's not that."

"Did your father finally name you as his heir?"

"Um… no. He chose my younger sister instead," she ducked her head in embarrassment.

"What? But you're the firstborn! Shouldn't you become the heir?" he cried, waving his arms about.

"I'm a female. If the firstborn is male, he is automatically made heir. But if the firstborn is female, the leadership of the clan passes to the firstborn male, or the person named by the current leader. And my father has no sons."

"That's still not fair. I think you should have become the head of the clan," he pouted, blasting air through his nostrils in irritation and folding his arms. She was irrationally glad that he still took her side. Then the ramen arrived, and he gleefully tucked in. She ate slowly, delicately, practising the skills she had been refining recently.

"Hey, why are you eating so slowly?" he asked, noticing her delicacy. "Aren't you hungry?"

She grew more nervous. _How am I ever going to tell him this?_ "Um… no, it's not that. This ramen is delicious," she said, for the benefit of the shopkeepers. They beamed at her.

"Then what is it?"

"I… I stopped being a ninja," she said. She hated herself for beating around the bush like this, but she just couldn't bring herself to say it in front of him.

"You WHAT?" he exclaimed, hitting the table so hard that the bowl of ramen nearly toppled.

"Um… since my sister is taking over the clan, my father said that I no longer needed to train in the family's style. He said he wanted me to… um…" she whispered something too low for him to hear.

"So what is it? What does your father want you to do now?"

She told him.

"WHAAAT!" The bowl of ramen really fell off the table this time.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **There you go, for all those who were waiting for them. :-) I actually managed to put three people into this one, for a change. This chapter is dedicated to Red Crow, whose "Second Chances" story far surpasses my feeble efforts.


	6. A Mysterious Stranger

**Disclaimer: **Yadda, yadda... see 1st chapter.

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**Chapter 6: A Mysterious Stranger**

The bowl smashed against the floor, shattering into a million pieces. The blonde sighed, and bent down to clean up the mess. She was being really clumsy today, for some strange reason. As she picked up the remains of the glass bowl behind the counter, she heard the doorbell tinkle, indicating that someone had entered the shop.

"Hello?" the voice was a man's one, smooth and deep. Cultured, she decided. Probably from a noble family of some sort. He seemed a little surprised to find nobody visible in the shop. As she frantically hurried to clean up the glass pieces so that she could attend to the customer, she heard his footsteps walking over to the counter.

"Err… oh. Excuse me," he said politely. The blonde woman turned to find a handsome, dark-haired man peering over the counter at her. He was trying to keep his eyes from straying to her bottom, which just so happened to be facing him at the moment. _Hmmm… he's cute_, she thought, before she jumped up with a bright smile and turned around to face him, sweeping the remains of the glass underneath the counter with a foot. A sharp twinge of pain made her regret that decision, but she refused to show it and turned all attention to the man standing in front of her.

He was standing with a slightly nervous air around him, as if he was unfamiliar with a situation like this. She knew at once that she had never seen him around the village before. If she had, she wouldn't have forgotten it. He looked to be slightly older than her – probably in his thirtieth year. A sharp nose, glossy black hair and clear-cut features gave his face a distinguished – almost cold – profile, but large brown eyes and the smile tugging at his lips hinted at a warmer nature inside. He looked like a lamb trapped in a lion's body. She felt a twinge of something in her heart that may – or may not – have been the beginnings of a crush.

That all died with the next sentence he spoke.

"I was hoping you would help me with assembling a bouquet for my fiancée."

_Why are all the good ones taken?_

She suppressed a sigh and smiled brightly at the man. _Oh well. If I can't get a man for myself, the least I can do is make sure that lucky girl appreciates this one_. She was getting a little sappy and soft-hearted lately. It was probably due to the fact that two of her closest friends were already married with children, and she was still stuck minding the flower shop or going on missions, alone. Having her mother nag at her to find a husband didn't help much either. Somehow, all the men she had gone out with never seemed to strike a chord with her. Perhaps she was just being too picky. But that didn't mean she had to grumble about it. She really did enjoy helping people find flowers for their loved ones. Which brought her back to the issue at hand.

"All right," she said. "Do you have any particular idea you wanted to express? Oh, and what does she look like? It's very important to find a flower that will match your fiancée's appearance."

"Um… actually, I'm not sure," he confessed. "I haven't met her before."

"What!" she was bewildered. _How could he not know what the girl he's going to marry looks like?_

"It was an arranged marriage," he continued, slightly sheepishly. "Our parents made all the necessary the arrangements while I was away on business. I'm supposed to go to her house and meet her for the first time later."

"Oh." It made sense, she supposed. It was rare to have arranged marriages in Konoha, but she had heard that it was still widely practiced in the other countries and among the nobility. "Well, in that case, you'll want something simple. Since you hardly know her yet, you don't want to come off as being overly-ardent and pushy, but at the same time, you would want to let her know of your interest in her."

"Right, right," he nodded, looking even more embarrassed. She guessed that he didn't have much experience with girls. It was surprising, because she would have thought that the combination of his looks, manners and the air of culture he exuded from every pore would have had flocks of them at his doorstep. _But then again, maybe he doesn't get out much._ "Something friendly. Not too romantic."

"Well, let's have a look around the shop, shall we?" she said, feeling a slight twinge of excitement. _If he's only beginning the courtship, he'll want more flowers, and he'll be bound to come here more often._ She started walking around, displaying the various flowers her family had for sale, and showing him which combinations were the best for the different moods. A part of her wondered why she was making such an effort for this stranger, but another part of her firmly told the first part to shut up. She did have a highly-disciplined mind, after all.

"Well, most likely, roses will be your best bet," she said, after about 10 minutes of conversation. "But we have at least five different colours of roses – white, red, pink, yellow and blue. Although they all mean different things, it should be okay if it's your first time together. But it would really help me if you could give me any sort of description about her."

"Um, I can tell you she has dark hair," he volunteered, after a bit of thought. "Every member of their family that I've met seems to have dark hair, so I think she probably would have, too."

"Oh, that's good," she prattled happily. "Dark hair is easier to pick from than light hair, particularly if you have these colours. The only rose that goes really well with dark hair is the white one. Now, if she had been blonde, like me, then we would have had a tougher choice between the red, pink or blue ones." She held each rose in turn up to her golden locks to demonstrate the effect.

"Yeah…" he breathed, seeming slightly stricken. "The red rose looks particularly good…"

She was a bit irritated. _Wasn't he listening?_ "No, no… white roses are better. Red roses won't do for a first date with someone you don't know."

"Oh," he was taken slightly by surprise. "Oh no, I meant that the red rose looks good on you, like you said. White _would_ be best for dark hair, I guess."

It was her turn to be taken by surprise. "Oh. I see." Some part of her was pleased at the compliment. The other part again shut the first part up and told it that engaged men were out of bounds. She lowered her eyes for a moment, and realised that her foot was bleeding slightly.

"Oh drat," she muttered under her breath, as she remembered the glass shards. The man picked up on her sudden change of mood, and followed her gaze to the floor. He drew a slight breath, and then pulled up a chair that happened to be nearby.

"Here, why don't you sit down, miss?" he invited her, patting the chair. "I'm sorry I made you walk across the shop like that – I didn't realise your foot was injured."

"Oh, no, it's not really necessary… it's just a slight accident. I'll be fine, really," she demurred. "Let me just record your purchase of a bouquet of white roses, and I'll be able to tend to it."

"I'm in no hurry," he said nonchalantly. "Besides, it would not be chivalrous of me to leave a lady injured while I casually strolled off. So please, sit down." His voice had taken a slightly firmer tone. She glanced at his face. Perhaps the resemblance to a lion _did_ have some basis of justification, after all. Meekly, she sat down. And wondered what she was doing.

"It looks like a splinter of glass has entered a cut in your foot," he said professionally, kneeling down to examine the wound. "I can get it out in no time." He withdrew a small pair of tweezers from one of his pockets and started to probe the cut.

So there she was, sitting in a chair, holding a bunch of roses, while one of the handsomest men she had met knelt at her feet.

If it wasn't for the fact that he was engaged, she would have found it horribly romantic.

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**Author's Notes: **Dedicated to The Prime Minister, who was the first person to actually make me fall in love with Ino, in the story "Worth the Trouble". Go read it. Seriously. Anyway, having introduced everyone again, you can expect to see names coming up in the following chapters. But those won't be posted so soon, because I'm still writing. (The real trouble is that I want to READ this story, not write it! And yet, if I don't write it, I can't read it. Being the author is so... troublesome. :-P) 


	7. A Sudden Meeting

**Disclaimer: **Naruto is not mine.

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**  
Chapter 7: A Sudden Meeting**

"Thank you all for coming," Tsunade announced, standing on the small lectern in the front of the hall. In front of her were the assembled heads of the various departments and a large majority of the available Jounin. "The reason why I've called you all here is…"

A door banged at the back, and Hyuuga Neji hurried in, followed by Rock Lee. "My apologies for being late," the Special Jounin muttered, as heads swivelled to face his pale eyes. Rock Lee, as usual, positioned himself at the back entrance, guarding against any unwelcome eavesdroppers. His devotion to his duties was impeccable, even though his fashion sense left much to be desired.

Tsunade cleared her throat to regain everyone's attention. "As I was saying, the reason why I've called you all here is to discuss the new situation we now have on our hands. Last night, the Scroll of Kinjutsu was stolen by one of our very own Jounin. Hunter-Nin Team 2 has recovered his body, but he seemed to have been drugged and has lapsed into a mild coma. One of the Hunter-Nins has also been similarly affected. What is of more importance, however, is the fact that the team failed to recover the scroll. Apparently whoever had drugged our ninja has also managed to escape successfully."

Shocked whispers and murmurs arose from the assembly. They knew the implications of this, all right. "Hokage-sama, this cannot be tolerated! We must send out all our ninja to retrieve the missing scroll and punish the thieves!"

She sighed. "Unfortunately, it's not that simple. As many of you know, the alliance between the countries is slowly breaking up. There have been rumours of a conspiracy that is behind the misunderstandings we've been having with the other hidden villages. Furthermore, the Fire Country's Lord is also very old, and expected to die at any time. As the succession is not clear, the situation is ripe for political instability and chaos to erupt. With things as they are now, we need to provide the other countries with a show of strength. Sending out all our ninja to track down a scroll that had been stolen from supposedly the most secure place in the village would be a sure sign of weakness."

"What then can we do?" a voice arose from the crowd.

"Uchiha Sasuke, as head of Konoha's Police Force, I want to put you in charge of the investigation surrounding the theft of the Kinjustu scroll. Remember, secrecy and subtlety is important. We cannot let anyone outside of this village know that the scroll has been stolen – not even all of our own. The fewer people who know about this, the better."

Sasuke nodded, once, his brain already working on the task ahead, and planning his investigation. First, he would need to examine the scene of the theft, then interrogate the traitor ninja – _didn't Rock Lee say something about Sakura being needed to treat him?_ – then scout around the area where the Hunter-Nin team found him…

"As for the rest of you, I want all Jounin to be put on alert for any sign of the conspiracy that is undermining the Coalition, while on their missions," Tsunade continued. "Furthermore, the number of missions will be doubled in order to reassure clients about Konoha's strength." No one uttered any protests. As Tsunade glanced around the room, she couldn't help but feel pride at the calm, determined faces that met her gaze. They all knew their duties as Konoha ninjas. Of such stuff were the shinobi of the Leaf made.

"Any further questions?" she asked. When no one raised their hand, she dismissed them. The assembled ninja quickly filed out of the room, leaving Tsunade alone. She sighed, and let herself slump on top of the lectern. This last act of sabotage was one in a long line of actions that she had been trying to trace. Things never got any easier, and the political manoeuvrings were beginning to wear her down. She could feel the dream of universal peace – the dream that she and all the previous Hokages of this village had fought for – beginning to slip through her fingers as the various countries were shrouded in a veil of conspiracy and growing mistrust. _I'm getting too old for this_, she thought. With another sigh, she remembered that she should check the patients at the Hospital, where – hopefully – Sakura would have found a cure by now. And after that, a meeting with the Hyuuga Clan, and after that…

Tsunade left the room, her head bowed down with the burdens of the Hokage.

* * *

Tenten dragged her feet to the forest clearing where she was supposed to meet her team. She had gone on for almost two full days without any sleep, first coming back from a late-night mission, then going for an exhausting training session with Neji, and finally having to attend Hokage-sama's meeting. Normally, it wouldn't have affected her so much, but she had been working hard throughout the month, trying to keep up with the three most energetic Genin that ever existed. The administration must have just balanced them according to ability. Somehow, she doubted that personalities had been taken into account when they formed the teams. 

There was Inuzuka Hitaro, who was rumoured to be even louder than Kiba when he was at his age. He was brash, overconfident, and extremely arrogant. The dog didn't help, either. Instead of going for a small breed, like Kiba's Akamaru, Hitaro had chosen one of the largest and most impressive-looking puppies that his family raised. Sekumaru resembled a small wolf – and he was only half a year old as yet. As far as she could tell, he was as arrogant as his master. Between the two of them, they formed a small Mutual Appreciation Society all on their own.

Then there was Morino Aki, the son of Morino Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko. Those two names alone spelled trouble. Aki inherited all of his mother's drive and his father's intense personality. Which made him very, very scary. His bloodlust tended to overcome him whenever they were assigned to anything remotely resembling killing. He would stab, and stab, and STAB the target – long after there was nothing left to stab. All while wearing a half-maniacal grin on his face, too. His personality would veer erratically between being calm, cool and collected, to a half-deranged, bloodthirsty monster within a matter of seconds.

And the last member of the trio was possibly the most difficult to deal with. While Sarutobi Kaori didn't have much in the way of actual ninja talent, she was a holy terror at mischief. One minute, she could be smiling at you with that angelic face of hers, and the next minute you would find yourself drenched in water, covered in mud, and sunk 5 layers deep in the most embarrassing genjutsu possible. Tenten recalled vividly how she had nearly been tricked into walking down the main street of Konoha naked. If it wasn't for the fact that Kaori had very little chakra capacity to sustain the elaborate genjutsu techniques her mother had taught her, she very well could have made her sensei the laughing-stock of the entire village.

So to try and take the edges off their youthful energy, Tenten had signed them on for double the workload that most of the other Genin trios faced – which had led to the second problem. They absolutely loved going on missions! What had begun as a remedial measure to cure them of personality problems now became their drug of choice. Almost every day, they would pester her to go on missions, missions and more missions. It didn't matter what the mission was, as long as they did it quick and accurately. That was one thing she could be proud of – they had never failed a mission yet. And her team had the highest number of missions completed among all of this year's Genin teams. But still… being a shinobi of the Leaf wasn't just about completing missions. They hadn't yet learned the most important lesson of all. How could she teach it to them so that they would remember it forever? She continued to ponder as she entered the clearing.

Sure enough, the three of them were waiting for her, impatiently fidgeting and wanting to be off on their mission, even though it was half an hour before they were scheduled to meet. Tenten sighed. It was going to be a very long day.


End file.
